Tsvangirai arrested

iafrica.com

Article By: Fanuel JongweWed, 04
Jun 2008 17:45Zimbabwe opposition chief Morgan Tsvangirai and several top
aides were detained by police on Wednesday while charities were told to stop
work as authorities intensified a crackdown ahead of a run-off
poll.

Tsvangirai, who faces President Robert Mugabe in the 27 June vote,
was stopped by police while driving in the Lupane area of southwest Zimbabwe
and held for some two hours before being taken to a police station, his
party said.

The reason for his detention, along with the party's
deputy leader Thokozani Khupe and chairman Lovemore Moyo, was not
immediately clear, with no comment from the police themselves.

"He
has been taken into a charge office in Lupane," chief spokesperson for the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change Nelson Chamisa told AFP by phone
from the police station.

"The police just said our bosses want to see
you," he added.

Tsvangirai has been arrested on a number of occasions and
twice been charged with treason. He suffered head injuries in March last
year after being assaulted by security forces as he tried to stage an
anti-government rally in the capital Harare.

The former union leader
is only participating in the run-off election under protest, insisting he
won an outright majority in the first round in March.

Official results
from the electoral commission gave Tsvangirai 47.9 percent of the vote
against Mugabe's 43.2 percent.

The MDC has faced severe restrictions in
its campaigning efforts and Tsvangirai has been largely prevented from
addressing party rallies.

Four MDC lawmakers have been arrested in the
lead-up to the vote later this month, when Mugabe will be seeking to extend
his 28 years at the helm of the southern African nation.

A leader of
a breakaway MDC faction, Arthur Mutambara, was arrested on Sunday over an
opinion piece which was heavily critical of 84-year-old Mugabe's rule of the
former British colony. He has since been bailed.

Violence has also
mounted ahead of the run-off, and the MDC says 58 of its supporters have
been killed by pro-Mugabe militias in recent weeks.

Mugabe has fingered
the opposition for the violence, but the United Nations' chief
representative in the country has said Mugabe's supporters are to blame for
the bulk of it.

Mugabe has been in Rome attending a UN food agency
summit. He used his speech at a Food and Agriculture Organisation summit on
Tuesday to accuse the West of trying to bring about "illegal regime change"
in Zimbabwe.

He has previously accused non-government organisations of
interfering in politics, and aid groups received further bad news
Wednesday.

Zimbabwe's government has sent a letter to CARE International
and ADRA ordering them to stop work immediately, said the director of the
National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (NANGO).

A
third group, Save the Children UK, said it had been asked to suspend work in
Binga district, where it had been providing support for 60 000
children.

NANGO had earlier said several organisations were ordered to
cease operations over accusations they campaigned for the opposition ahead
of the run-off election.

"If we continue like this, we are going to
have a crisis," the director, Cephas Zinhumwehe, told AFP. "The situation is
ugly."

Many Zimbabweans, particularly in rural areas, rely on food aid
due to shortages of basic commodities such as cooking oil and cornmeal in
the one-time breadbasket of southern Africa.

Critics fault Mugabe's
chaotic land reform programme in 2000, while Mugabe says a combination of
drought, Western sanctions and unscrupulous businesses are to
blame.

The reported restrictions on the aid groups were met with
international condemnation Wednesday, with UN human rights commissioner
Louise Arbour saying they would be "an unconscionable act."

Tsvangirai
still in detention in Lupane

By Our
CorrespondentHARARE -Opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader,
Morgan Tsvangirai was still detained in police custody Wednesday night after
he was arrested at Lupane in Matabeleland North.Tsvangirai and his
entourage were detained at Lupane Police Station after their convoy was
intercepted by the police while on a campaign tour of Matabeleland North
ahead of the June 27 presidential run-off against President Robert
Mugabe.Nelson Chamisa, the MDC spokesman, said indications were that
Tsvangirai, who was detained together with his deputy, Thoko Khupe, party
national chairman Lovemore Moyo, among other provincial leaders would most
likely be held over night as the police were now accusing them of holding an
illegal meeting."I spoke to the President about an hour ago, they are
still in the charge office," said Chamisa at about 7.45 pm local time.He
said others also detained included Tsvangirai's spokesman George Sibotshiwe.
Ironically, Sibotshiwe's name means, "We have been arrested," in the Ndebele
language spoken in the western regions of Zimbabwe.Khupe told The Zimbabwe
Times by telephone from Lupane last night that they were all interrogated in
separate rooms. "They have separated us. The President is being interrogated
in another room, so is Lovemore Moyo. They have just finished interrogating
me. They are saying we addressed an illegal meeting at St Luke's
Hospital."She said it was not clear if they would be released by last night.
Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena was not available to comment on the matter
last night.Fifteen MDC supporters who were in Tsvangirai's entourage
were also detained while others who had been arrested at Lupane Business
Centre early in the morning while waiting for Tsvangirai, according to
Chamisa.Chamisa added: "It is clear the regime wants to frustrate our
campaign for the presidential run-off."On Tuesday police in Matabeleland
South denied Tsvangirai permission to hold a rally at Manama on the grounds
that his security could not be guaranteed allegedly due to the presence of
Zanu-PF militia and soldiers who had been spotted in the vicinity of the
venue to the proposed rally.Political violence and alleged refusal by the
police to allow the opposition to hold rallies and meetings has mired the
campaigning for the run-off in which Tsvangirai appears the favourite after
outpolling President Robert Mugabe in the first round on March 29.The
MDC, now the majority party in Parliament, says at least 50 of its members
have been killed in political violence over the past two months while
several thousands more had been displaced from their homes.

And in a
statement earlier yesterday Chamisa said that suspected ruling Zanu-PF party
militia petrol-bombed MDC offices at a rural business centre in the southern
Masvingo province, killing three of the opposition party's
members.Chamisa said four more members were missing after the bombing on
Tuesday night at Jerera Business Centre, while two others were critically
injured and were receiving treatment at the church-run St Anthony's Mission
hospital.The MDC spokesman said that the party members whose names were
not yet available died from gunshot wounds and it was suspected that they
were first shot before the offices were bombed."We have information
right now that police from Law and Order have arrived and we hope they will
investigate. Three bodies are still in the offices. We are still trying to
locate four other bodies. All these people have gunshot wounds," said
Chamisa.

Robert Mugabe 'disrupts Morgan Tsvangirai's campaign' after
he is held in Zimbabwe

The Telegraph

By Peta Thornycroft in HarareLast Updated:
7:18PM BST 04/06/2008President Robert Mugabe's regime was accused of
disrupting Morgan Tsvangirai's election campaign when the opposition leader
was detained by Zimbabwe's police.Mr Tsvangirai defeated Mr Mugabe in
the presidential election's first round in March and is now contesting a
run-off due on June 27. But police stopped his convoy as he travelled to a
campaign rally in Matabeleland North province at about 10am.

Mr
Tsvangirai was taken to a police station in the nearby town of Lupane.
Opposition officials are unaware of any charges and suspect this is another
official attempt to harass their leader.

"It appears they want to
disrupt our campaign programme," said Nelson Chamisa, a spokesman for the
Movement for Democratic Change [MDC].

Last weekend, police refused Mr
Tsvangirai permission to hold campaign rallies. Since the election's first
round, Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF party has unleashed a wave of violence designed
to destroy the MDC's support base. Scores of people have been murdered and
thousands more beaten, tortured or abducted.By actively harassing Mr
Tsvangirai's efforts to campaign, the regime may be taking another step to
guarantee victory for Mr Mugabe.

Last weekend,
Major-General Martin Chedondo, the army chief of staff, told a military
audience: "Soldiers are not apolitical, only mercenaries are apolitical. We
should therefore stand behind our commander-in-chief."

Speaking
in Bulawayo on Tuesday, Mr Tsvangirai said: "Mugabe is determined to turn
the whole country into a war-zone in order to subvert the will of the people
and steal the June 27 election by any means possible.

"But we will not
stop campaigning, the people will not stop supporting the MDC and together
we will defeat this illegitimate and desperate regime."

US says Zimbabwe must free Tsvangirai 'unharmed'

SABC

June 04,
2008, 20:15

The US today urged Zimbabwe to immediately release opposition
leader Morgan Tsvangirai unharmed and said South Africa must use its
leverage to pressure President Robert Mugabe.

State Department
spokesperson Sean McCormack said the detention of Tsvangirai, who heads the
Movement for Democratic Change in Zimbabwe, was deeply disturbing. "He
should be released immediately, unharmed, untouched," McCormack told
reporters.

Tsvangirai, who was beaten in March last year when he was held
in police custody, was picked up at a police roadblock today in an apparent
attempt to derail his presidential campaign ahead of a run-off vote on June
27.

"There was an incident where he was badly beaten and we would hope
and call upon the Zimbabwean government to create an atmosphere in Zimbabwe
where those who have political views different than the government can speak
out free from fear of intimidation," McCormack said.

Tsvangirai, who
has been arrested several times in the past, outpolled Mugabe in a March 29
presidential election but failed to win the absolute majority needed to
avoid a second ballot. Mugabe has been in power since independence from
Britain in 1980.

The opposition says 50 people have been killed by
Mugabe's supporters since the election. Today it said soldiers and ruling
Zanu-PF party activists had beaten and threatened to shoot Zimbabweans who
wanted to meet and support Tsvangirai.

McCormack said he did not
believe Tsvangirai had been charged with any crime and there was no
information about what the government planned to do with him. He was being
held at a rural police station southwest of Harare.

He said South
Africa's government, which has close historical ties to Harare's ruling
Zanu-PF party and has been criticized for being soft on Mugabe, should use
its leverage to influence events in Zimbabwe. "Everybody knows the reality
that this government and the leadership of the South African government is
uniquely positioned to go to President Mugabe and the leadership there and
to encourage them to change their behavior," said McCormack.

"States
like South Africa need to use the leverage that they have. It is a tragic
situation," said McCormack. About 4 million Zimbabweans rely on food aid in
a country which was once the region's breadbasket but where annual inflation
is now a staggering 165 000% and unemployment 80%. - Reuters

The MDC said in a statement that Mr Tsvangirai had initially been
stopped by police on a slip road while driving in the Lupane area and held
for some two hours before being transferred to a police station.

Mr
Tsvangirai has been arrested on a number of occasions and twice been charged
with treason.

The former union leader suffered head injuries in March
last year after being assaulted by the security forces as he tried to stage
an anti-government rally in the capital Harare.

Amnesty International : Free Tsvangirai immediately

News24

04/06/2008
21:25 - (SA)

London - Rights watchdog Amnesty International on
Wednesday called for the immediate release of Zimbabwe opposition leader
Morgan Tsvangirai who was detained along with his entourage ahead of a key
presidential run-off poll.

Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC), was held with key figures including the party's
deputy leader and chair after allegedly addressing an election rally without
authorisation, the MDC said.

"Morgan Tsvangirai should be released
immediately - or charged with a recognisable criminal offence," said
London-based Amnesty in a statement.

It added that his detention was part
of a "sudden, sharp and dangerous crackdown on political opposition" ahead
of run-off presidential elections against President Robert Mugabe at the end
of this month.

The group also condemned the government's reported order
to three aid agencies to stop operations in Zimbabwe over claims they had
campaigned for the MDC.

"By introducing restrictions against aid
workers in Zimbabwe... the Zimbabwean government is attempting to hide the
worst of the state-sponsored violence from the eyes of the world," it
said.

"If the arrest
of Morgan Tsvangirai does not spur President Mbeki to take decisive action
in Zimbabwe, then nothing will," said Zille.

She called on Mbeki, as the
mediator in Zimbabwe, to release the MDC leader.

"Tsvangirai's arrest
proves beyond all doubt that President Robert Mugabe will seek to retain
power at all costs.

"There is no way that a presidential run-off will be
free and fair under these circumstances. Surely, even Mbeki must see that
now."

If Mbeki did not demand Tsvangirai's release he must step aside for
another mediator who would ensure that the will of the Zimbabwean people was
realised in a free and fair presidential run-off election, said Zille.

Prominent Zimbabwean Human Rights Lawyers Receiving Death Threats

Andrew Makoni, one of Zimbabwe's most
prominent human rights lawyers, has fled to South Africa after receiving
several credible threats that Zimbabwean security officials have been
instructed to kill him, according to the Southern Africa Litigation Centre
(SALC). Several other high-profile human rights lawyers also said to be
targeted.

Makoni's sources indicate that the strategy is to eliminate at
least one prominent human rights lawyer to deter others from publicising and
providing defence to the victims of the escalating political violence.
Information he received was that the plan to kill him had been put into
action and that a special team of security agents had been assigned to the
police station nearest his home in order to execute the
assassination.

This is not the first time that Zimbabwean human rights
lawyers are the target of these types of threats. In March 2007, Mr Makoni
and his law partner, Alec Muchadehama, acting for political activists
tortured in detention, were themselves unlawfully detained. Several of the
lawyers, including Beatrice Mtetwa, who protested against this unlawful
detention were forced into police vehicles and driven to a secluded area
where they were beaten.

And in 2006, lawyers at ZLHR, including its
then head, Arnold Tsunga, were subject to a systematic campaign of
intimidation, including death threats.

The recent threats are cause for
heightened concern, however, following as they do the orchestrated violence
unleashed by Zimbabwean security agents in the wake of the March elections
and specifically the murders in the past two weeks of at least four of Mr
Makoni's clients: Better Chokururama, Godfrey Kauzani, Cain Nyere and
Shepherd Jani.

Said SALC Director, Nicole Fritz: "When the most
prominent, the most active and the most courageous human rights lawyers are
targeted and forced to flee, you know that you're dealing with the most
grotesque forms of impunity.

"South African and regional leaders need
to put human rights monitors on the ground now because the Zimbabwean
authorities who refuse to relinquish power can not be trusted to secure the
lives, let alone the interests, of their citizens."

A statement from the MDC said a truckload of militants arrived
at the party offices at midnight and fired shots into the building. The
attackers later petrol bombed the building that was also housing victims of
political violence in the area. At least 4 activists are missing and
presumed dead while another 2 suffered critical injuries and are detained at
St Anthony's Musiso Hospital. The charred remains of 3 bodies lay on the
floor in the burnt out MDC offices and all had bullet wounds.

MDC
spokesman Nelson Chamisa told Newsreel they were still awaiting the positive
identification of the deceased before they could release their names. He
described the attack on their offices in the Zaka district as being part of
an ongoing Zanu PF campaign of violence that has so far claimed the lives of
53 activists. He explained that since Morgan Tsvangirai's historic win over
Robert Mugabe in the March 29th election, Zanu PF has targeted specific
areas for violent retributions. He cited, Zaka, Uzumba, Murehwa, Mutoko,
Mudzi, Buhera, Makoni, Mutasa, Hurungwe, Kadoma, Chegutu, Zvimba North,
Shamva, Mazowe, Mount Darwin and Muzarabani as examples.

The MDC
dismissed prospects for a free and fair election arguing, 'our people
continue to be killed, brutalised and maimed. Armed militia have brought the
specter of death in both rural and urban homes, forcing the victors in the
last election to flee into the mountains.' The MDC says villagers are being
required to produce Zanu PF 'passes' if they want to move from one village
to another. It added that thousands of homes have been torched countrywide
with Zanu PF showing no shame or compassion in its 'barbaric onslaught on
innocent citizens for expressing their sovereign will on March
29th.'

The party also accused Mugabe of trying to masquerade as a victim
of the violence when in fact he was the perpetrator. The state owned media
was accused of fanning the violence by using hate speech against the MDC in
their lopsided coverage. 'The MDC is appealing to SADC, the African Union
and the international community to take a tough stance against the regime in
order to allow the people of Zimbabwe to freely express themselves once
again on 27th June 2008,' an MDC statement read.

Human Rights Groups: Zimbabwe Using Food as Political
Weapon

VOA

By Scott BobbJohannesburg04 June
2008

Human rights organizations are accusing the government of
Zimbabwe of using food as a political weapon in its campaign to win the
presidential runoff election in three weeks. The charges come one day after
the government suspended three international aid agencies accusing them of
involvement in politics. VOA's Scott Bobb reports from our Southern Africa
Bureau in Johannesburg.

The Human Rights Watch group says the
Zimbabwean government is seeking to control food distributions in order to
win the presidential run-off election on June 27.

The organization's
Zimbabwe researcher, Tiseke Kasambala, says in addition militants of the
ruling ZANU-PF party are preventing aid agencies from reaching needy people
in some rural areas.

"In the past the government of Zimbabwe has used
food as a political tool to force people to vote for ZANU-PF and it seems
increasingly likely that these suspensions are tied in with the government's
attempts to take control of food distribution in the rural areas and to use
food as a political weapon," said Kasambala.

She says the suspensions
are also aimed at blocking international reporting on alleged violence
against supporters of the Movement for Democratic Change party.

The
Zimbabwean government says the agencies were suspended because they had
become involved in politics. President Robert Mugabe Tuesday told delegates
to a United Nations food summit in Rome that food and funds were being
channeled through aid agencies to campaign against the government. The
agencies say they distribute food to needy people regardless of their
political affiliation.

The MDC won a majority in parliament and its
leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, received more votes than Mr. Mugabe in national
elections in March. But Tsvangirai did not win a majority of the votes and
as a result is to face Mr. Mugabe in a runoff election in three
weeks.

The opposition says since the election more than 50 supporters
have been killed, hundreds wounded and thousands of people displaced in
attacks by government supporters.

Kasambala said the attacks were
part of a campaign of intimidation.

"Thousands of people have been
disenfranchised from their right to vote," she said. "The violent conditions
themselves do not lend themselves to free and fair elections."

She
called on the Zimbabwean government to end the violence and urged the
14-nation Southern African Development Community, SADC, to speed up
deployment of its observers. SADC said it will double the number of
observers, to 400, and most will be in place by next week.

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(OCHA)

Date: 04 Jun 2008

(New York, 4 June 2008): United
Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency
Relief Coordinator John Holmes today expressed grave concern at a decision
by authorities in Zimbabwe to restrict efforts by humanitarian agencies to
deliver relief aid to those in need in that country.

'This goes
against fundamental humanitarian principles,' said Mr. Holmes. 'Humanitarian
agencies must be allowed to reach freely those who are in need in Zimbabwe.
Millions of Zimbabweans are unfortunately dependant on humanitarian aid in
the present circumstances,' Mr. Holmes said.

'Humanitarian agencies are
guided by the principles of neutrality and impartiality, their mandate being
only to alleviate the suffering of people in distress,' Mr. Holmes added. 'I
hope the Government of Zimbabwe will facilitate unrestricted access, as well
as safety and security, for humanitarian aid workers,' he said.

NGOs
in Zimbabwe have been facing increasing restrictions in the run up to the
run-off presidential elections later this month. More recently, NGOs in
different parts of the country have been ordered to suspend their
operations, partially or totally. Aid programmes that have been affected
include school feeding programmes and those for orphans and vulnerable
children. According to UNICEF, those displaced by election-related violence
include more than 10,000 children.

Non-governmental organisations are
key implementing partners of UN agencies, and curtailing operations affects
the implementation of UN programmes in Zimbabwe.

The restrictions are
also coming at time when food security in Zimbabwe is deteriorating, leaving
an increasing number of people vulnerable. According to the UN Food and
Agriculture Organization, poor rainfall and lack of seeds mean that this
year's harvest will be worse than in 2007.

Aid operations in the country
are intended to benefit over four million Zimbabweans, or over one-third of
the population. In late 2007, 42 UN agencies and NGOs appealed for $317
million to provide urgently needed aid to the country in 2008. Halfway
through 2008, the Appeal has been only 17% funded, and increased resources
are urgently needed given the increasingly difficult humanitarian situation
in the country.

Statement by CARE International on the Situation in
Zimbabwe

Care.org

On Friday, May 30, CARE International's country office in
Zimbabwe was ordered by the government of Zimbabwe to suspend all field
operations pending an investigation into allegations of political activism.
CARE has complied with the order and has recalled all field
staff.

CARE has strict policies against political involvement and
categorically denies the organization has encouraged or tolerated any
political activity. CARE is committed to providing independent, impartial,
apolitical relief and development assistance on the basis of need to improve
sustainable livelihoods for vulnerable populations, according to the Code of
Conduct for Non-Governmental Organizations and to CARE International's Code
of Ethics.

CARE's mission is to serve individuals and families in some of
the most vulnerable rural and urban communities in the Zimbabwe. Drawing
strength from our global diversity, resources and experience, we promote
innovative solutions and facilitate lasting change by strengthening capacity
for self-help, providing economic opportunities, delivering relief in
emergencies and addressing discrimination. Over 1.8 million Zimbabweans
benefit from CARE programs, which include projects in food aid and food
security, sustainable agriculture and natural resource development, water
and sanitation, microcredit, support for orphans and vulnerable children and
home-based care for the chronically ill.

CARE has pledged to
cooperate with the government of Zimbabwe in resolving the situation so that
humanitarian operations may be resumed as soon as possible.

Feeding scheme for 100,000 people stopped

JOHANNESBURG , 4 June 2008 (IRIN) -
The implementation of a food distribution scheme for 100,000 people has
stalled after the Zimbabwean government suspended CARE International's
operations for alleged "political activity".

CARE works to alleviate
poverty and promote community health, with a particular focus on empowering
women, and is one of the largest non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
operating in Zimbabwe. On 28 May it was ordered to suspend its operations,
pending a government investigation into its activities.

In a
statement CARE said it was "committed to providing independent, impartial,
apolitical relief and development assistance on the basis of need, to
improve sustainable livelihoods for vulnerable populations, according to the
Code of Conduct for Non-Governmental Organisations and to CARE
International's Code of Ethics."

The suspension of CARE's operations
would immediately affect about 500,000 Zimbabwean beneficiaries of projects
such as water and sanitation, micro-credit, home-based care for the
chronically ill, most of whom are infected with HIV, and support for orphans
and vulnerable children.

CARE's Africa Communications Manager, Kenneth
Walker, told IRIN that the feeding scheme for 100,000 people had been
scheduled for implementation in June 2008, after the government said
Zimbabwe's anticipated maize harvest would be poor - about one million
tonnes shy of the national requirement. "I have no idea where they [people
earmarked for food assistance] might get food from now," Walker
said.

In 2007/08 international donor agencies provided food aid to 4.1
million people, more than a third of the population. The country's acute
food shortages, compounded by government's recent admission that only 13
percent of the planned 2008 winter wheat crop had been planted, mean more
people are expected to require food assistance earlier in 2008 than the
previous year.

During the "lean period" between October 2007 and the
March 2008 harvest, CARE was responsible for food aid to nearly one million
Zimbabweans, or about a quarter of those requiring assistance.

CARE,
which has channelled more than $US100 million in development assistance and
relief since starting operations in 1992, said it had requested, "but to
date has not yet received, the details of any allegations, including names,
dates and locations ... [and] has pledged to cooperate with the government
in resolving the situation so that humanitarian operations may be resumed as
soon as possible."

About 300 Zimbabweans employed by CARE have been told
to "remain at home pending further notice from the government".

NGOs
agents of Western powers

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe told the UN
Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) summit in Rome, Italy, on 3 June
that NGOs were being used to undermine his ZANU-PF government.

"Funds
are being channelled through non-governmental organisations to opposition
political parties, which are a creation of the West," Mugabe said. "These
Western-funded NGOs also use food as a political weapon with which to
campaign against government, especially in the rural areas."

According to
a report by the US-based New York Times newspaper, representatives of aid
groups were summoned by government officials in four districts of Zimbabwe
and told to stop operations until after the run-off presidential vote
between on 27 June, when Mugabe will stand against Morgan Tsvangirai, leader
of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

Zimbabwe Social
Welfare Minister Nicholas Goche told ZimOnline, an internet-based news
service, that "several other non-governmental organisations ... will be
asked to cease their operations while we investigate them."

The UN
High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, said after addressing the
FAO summit in Rome that if reports that NGOs had been instructed to suspend
their activities were correct, "this would be an unconscionable
act."

"To deprive people of food because of an election would be an
extraordinary perversion of democracy, and a serious breach of international
human rights law," she said.

There have been widespread reports of
violence since the elections for local, parliamentary and presidential
candidates were held on 29 March, when ZANU-PF lost control of parliament
for the first time since the country won its independence from Britain in
1980.

Bumper maize order

At a presidential election rally on 29
May at Shamva, in northeastern Zimbabwe, Mugabe reportedly told the audience
that 600,000 tons of maize had been purchased from neighbouring South Africa
to alleviate the food shortages.

At current prices of about R1,800
(US$231) per metric tonne (mt) for white maize, a 600,000mt white maize
order would cost Zimbabwe about US$139 million, before transport
costs.

Zimbabwe's economy is in meltdown, with annual inflation estimated
at about one million percent and acute shortages of foreign currency, food,
fuel, electricity and basic commodities.

South Africa is expecting
the harvest of white and yellow maize to exceed 11 million tonnes in 2008,
according to traders.

[ENDS][This report does not
necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations

WASHINGTON: The White House said
Wednesday that the Bush administration is "saddened and troubled" by
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe regime's decision to suspend apolitical
non-governmental operations in Zimbabwe, including those by
CARE.

She said it further displays the regime's "callous
indifference" to the Zimbabwean people's plight and pleas for
change.

"Instead of delivering empty rhetoric in Rome, where Mugabe went
to participate in a world food conference, we urge the Mugabe regime to take
real action, including the reversal of this ill-advised decision, to prevent
government-induced starvation in Zimbabwe," Perino said.

British PM Pushing for Observers for Zimbabwe
Election

VOA

By Tendai MaphosaLondon04 June
2008

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown says he is working
with African leaders to get international observers into Zimbabwe to ensure
that the upcoming presidential runoff election there is free and fair.
Tendai Maphosa has more in this report from London.

Prime Minister
Brown told parliament Wednesday that the outcome of the presidential runoff
will only be acceptable if the government of President Robert Mugabe allows
international observers into the country.

"There is a need for hundreds
of observers because of the geography of the country and because of threats
of intimidation and I am working with the president of the African Union and
the president of SADC and other leaders around the world to make sure that
the offer of international observers is there and is taken up," he
said.

The runoff vote was set for June 27 after the initial presidential
balloting was inconclusive and marred by allegations of fraud and vote
rigging.

The Zimbabwean government has in the past insisted it will only
allow observers from friendly countries. During the general elections in
March no observers from western countries were allowed in. That poll
resulted in Mr. Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party losing control of parliament
for the first time since independence in 1980.

Opposition leader
Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) beat Mr.
Mugabe in the presidential poll, but not by the margin required to avoid a
runoff.

Wednesday's debate in the British parliament comes a day after
Mr. Mugabe again blamed former colonial power Britain for much of Zimbabwe's
economic plight. He accused London of persuading other western countries to
punish Zimbabwe for its controversial land reform program.

In a
speech at the summit of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in
Rome, Mr. Mugabe accused western countries of imposing sanctions on Zimbabwe
for the sometimes-violent exercise launched in 2000. The program saw white
farmers lose their farms to make way for landless blacks. But the
president's critics say the farms were handed out to his close supporters
who have failed to maintain production. As a result, four million
Zimbabweans now depend on food aid.

During Wednesday's parliamentary
debate in London, leader of the opposition Liberal Democratic party Nick
Clegg brought up the issue of stripping Mr. Mugabe of the honorary
knighthood bestowed on him by the British government in 1994. Prime Minister
Brown responded, saying it is not a priority.

"Mr. Speaker I am less
interested in the symbols than the substance and we have got to get
elections in Zimbabwe that are seen to be free and fair," he added.
"Zimbabweans deserve to have a government that is fully democratically
elected put in place."

However a Foreign Office spokesman, speaking on
condition anonymity, told VOA that there have been calls for the withdrawal
of the knighthood and, he said, the matter is under review. Last year
Edinburgh University became the first institution to strip Mr. Mugabe of an
honorary degree bestowed on him in 1984.

Mugabe rejects Ban's UN envoy as British, US ploy:
state media

Monsters and Critics

Jun 4, 2008, 10:16 GMT

Harare - Zimbabwean
President Robert Mugabe rebuffed a proposal by United Nations Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon to send a UN envoy to the country, saying that 'anything
that smells of American and British influence will not be acceptable to us,'
Zimbabwe's Herald newspaper reported Wednesday.

Speaking after a meeting
with Mugabe Tuesday on the sidelines of the UN summit on hunger in Rome, Ban
said he would send a special envoy to Zimbabwe to discuss ways the UN could
support a fair presidential run-off election on June 27.

Ban said he
would send Haile Menkerios of Eritrea to Zimbabwe with Mugabe's approval, a
spokeswoman confirmed in New York.

Mugabe faces opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai in the run-off that was
called for after neither candidate won an outright majority in the first
round of voting on March 29.

The MDC has called for the run-off to be
opened up to scrutiny by Western and UN observers but the government has
barred observers and journalists from 'unfriendly' nations.

According
to the state-controlled Herald, Mugabe told Ban he took 'great exception to
the use of the UN Secretary General by Britain and the US to further their
interest' and that he would only support the UN giving technical assistance
to the non-Western observers.

The Herald said Mugabe told Ban his
comments on Zimbabwe 'completely ignored the fact that Zimbabwe was bleeding
under illegal sanctions' imposed by Britain, the European Union and the
United States.

'Mr Secretary General, don't be used by them. I plead, I
plead, I plead. We want you, we respect you, we chose you,' Mugabe was
quoted by the Herald as telling Ban, who has repeatedly expressed concern
over the situation in Zimbabwe.

Mugabe on Tuesday used a speech to
the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) summit in Rome to lash out at
his critics, who said his presence at the meeting, given the widespread
hunger caused by his populist policies in Zimbabwe, was an
embarrassment.

The 84-year-old leader, who has ruled Zimbabwe since
independence since 1980, blamed his country's food shortages on the
sanctions that target mainly ruling party top brass and again accused the
West of trying to effect 'illegal regime change.'

Human rights groups
say Mugabe's Zanu-PF party is responsible for most of the post-election
violence that the MDC says has claimed the lives of at least 50 opposition
supporters.

Mugabe was reported by the Herald to have drawn Ban's
attention to the deaths of two supporters of his Zanu-PF party.

Intensified violence claim two more lives in
Kezi

The Zimbabwean

Wednesday, 04 June 2008 05:50BULAWAYO - FORMER senator
in Zimbabwe's Matabeleland North Province and a group of war veterans have
allegedly unleashed a reign of terror on villagers in Kezi district, some 70
kilometres west of Zimbabwe's second largest city--Bulawayo.The
violence has so far claimed the lives of two opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) supporters in the district, as ZANU-PF seeks to
retain power in the build up to the presidential run-off election and three
parliamentary by elections on June 27.The former senator, Ananeas
Nyathi, is alleged to be actively involved in a violent campaign that has
led to the closure of five schools in the district after war veterans sent
letters to the teachers warning them to leave the schools between May16-17.
The schools are still closed.People targeted were mostly key MDC
leaders, and newly elected MPs.Efforts to get comment from Nyathi were
unsuccessful.Alexander Phiri, the new councilor for ward two in
Matobo, said he was now sleeping in the bush fearing for his life after the
war veterans threatened him with death and warned that he would never be a
councillor in his lifetime, at a meeting that was supposedly called to
register people for food hand outs."They told me point blank that
they were going to kill me. I thought it was just a threat. But that very
same evening they talked emphatically about killing me. After realising that
they were serious, I went into hiding."They chanted slogans right
round my yard saying I was their meat," said Phiri.Phiri's
14-year-old daughter was also thoroughly beaten up with sjamboks and logs by
the same group of war veterans, and sustained serious injuries. She was
being "punished" for failing to show them her parents' MDC regalia.
"At a roll call meeting they beat up six youths they accused of being
supporters of the opposition. They then 'baptized' them at the dam in the
name of ZANU-PF after forcing them to roll in mud."They burnt
several MDC T-shirts and cards, threatening that anyone found supporting the
opposition would be in trouble," said Mlamuli Ndlovu, a villager.
In ward two, an MDC activist, Luis Ndlovu, has since abandoned his homestead
after the war veterans attacked him, while he was asleep in the early hours
of the morning.He spent a week at Mpilo Hospital and his two young
children are now living with neighbours.A door in one of the
houses was axed and windowpanes shattered.--CAJ News.

Top
CIO man warns of possible return to war

HARARE - A senior official within the Central Intelligence
Organisation (CIO) has warned villagers in Zimbabwe's Mashonaland Central
Province that there will be an outbreak of war if Zanu-PF is defeated on
June 27.

Mernard Muzariri, the deputy director general of the fierce
organisation, which is known for its loyalty to President Robert Mugabe,
warned that Zanu-PF would launch another armed liberation struggle should
Mugabe lose to the MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai in the forthcoming
run-off.

Tsvangirai is widely tipped to win the re-run of an election
which he won on March 29 by a margin of 47, 9 percent of votes polled to
Mugabe's 43, 2. An orgy of bloody violence by Zanu-PF militants, including
in the security forces, in the aftermath of the election has been strongly
condemned both in and out of Zimbabwe.

Muzariri was quoted in the
government media as saying Mugabe and Zanu-PF were defending the land "which
did not come on a silver platter".

Muzariri was speaking at Nyamahobogo
Primary School in Mt Darwin where 63 supporters of the MDC, including two
recently elected councilors, promptly announced they had "defected to
Zanu-PF after realizing the MDC was taking us for a ride".

In the
face of sustained violence by Zanu-PF, some opposition supporters have taken
to crossing to the former ruling party as a strategy to safeguard their
lives and property.

The CIO boss said Zimbabweans should therefore "vote
wisely" to avoid another war, adding that the people of Mashonaland Central
had fought in the forefront in the previous liberation struggles and should
not join hands with "sell-out opposition parties".

"Mbuya Nehanda was
resident in this province and she died while defending land. On December 22
1972, the first AK rifle was fired (in this province) heralding the
beginning of the Second Chimurenga and that gun was fired in Centenary,
which again is in Mashonaland Central."

Muzariri hails from Mashonaland
Central Province.

The warning by the CIO boss comes in the wake of
similar warnings by a top police officer, Senior Assistant Commissioner
Musarashana Godwin Mabunda that voting for the MDC was tantamount to voting
for war.

Senior Zanu-PF officials have repeated similar messages at
several rallies.This also comes at a time when politically motivated
violence is escalating throughout the country. The violence is blamed on the
security forces, the war veterans and Zanu PF militias.

MDC challenges postal ballot

The Zimbabwean

Wednesday, 04
June 2008 05:53 THE Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has said it
will take the legal route to challenge the increased number of postal
ballots that have been cast for the June 27 presidential run-off
election.Party spokesperson Nelson Chamisa said information they
gathered indicated that the police have applied to the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission (ZEC) to have the number of postal ballots increased to 60
000.In the March 29 elections only 8 000 requested to use the postal
ballot."We don't know why the number has to increase by such a
huge margin. Nothing has changed since the last election and we will do our
best to stop it. The only challenge we have is that no police officer is
prepared to come out and confess for fear of victimisation," said
Chamisa.Under the Electoral Act, only police officers deployed on duty
away from their voting constituencies as well as civil servants on duty
outside the country, are allowed to vote by postal ballot."We have
since written to ZEC advising them about our fears and we hope they will
take note. But you should also understand that ZEC itself is now not in
charge of this election. ZANU-PF has taken over, they are prepared to remain
in power at whatever cost," said Chamisa.He said the violence going on
around the country has also affected ZEC officials and a number of them face
prosecution for the mere reason that President Robert Mugabe lost to the MDC
leader Morgan Tsvangirai in the March 29 poll."The vampire
instincts of ZANU-PF have come out and there will be more violence until 27
June."But the people of Zimbabwe should not lose hope because the
darkest hour is always before dawn. A new Zimbabwe is on the way whatever
tricks the regime might use, they will come to nothing. We spoke on March 29
and we will speak again come June 27," said Chamisa.The postal
ballots that our sources said was likely to be extended to include spouses
of soldiers and police officers, is expected to raise at least 50 000 postal
votes for Mugabe.Police spokesman Assistant Commission Wayne
Bvudzijena yesterday denied that the police were planning to rig the
presidential run-off election by making spouses and children vote for Mugabe
by postal ballot.There was no immediate comment from the ZEC or
ZANU-PF on the alleged plan by the police to sway the June 27 vote in favour
of Mugabe ---CAJ News.

Mugabe a disgrace at UN Summit

The Zimbabwean

Wednesday,
04 June 2008 10:58By Savious KwinikaCAJ News Agency
Johannesburg Bureau04/06/2008JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News)-- THE
Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has described President Robert
Mugabe's presence at the ongoing United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organisation conference in Rome, Italy, as a disgrace to Africa.
Japhet Moyo, deputy secretary-general of the ZTCU, told journalists that
Mugabe's presence at the summit was a big "disgrace" for Africa and the
world, especially to nations that respected the rule of law and
democracy."Mugabe's presence in Rome is an insult to the world
democracy and rule of law. South Africa and China have been protecting
Mugabe for quite sometime now, especially in various United Nations (UN)
fora and other international summits."However, we are currently
negotiating with other world labour bodies to continue making lots of noise
about Mugabe's presence in Rome," said Moyo.More than 50
Zimbabweans have so far been killed shortly after the March 29 harmonised
elections, with several dozens of thousands fleeing their native country for
safety following death threats and torture.Moyo said the
socio-political situation in Zimbabwe was pathetic arguing that the United
Nations' Security Council should deploy its troops as a matter of
urgency."We urgently call for the UN to deploy its peacekeeping
mission to Zimbabwe without fail, because any delays would expose the
majority of villagers to Mugabe's militia youths for massacre," said
Moyo.His remarks were supported by the president of the Zimbabwe
National Students Association (ZINASU), Clever Bere, who insisted that a
joint peacekeeping mission from the UN and the African Unity (AU) should be
deployed to protect the masses."President Thabo Mbeki (of South
Africa) has failed the nation of Zimbabwe, but we still hope the UN and AU
should deploy their peacekeeping missions before the elections. This has to
be done speedily," said Bere--CAJ News.

Heads
roll at ZBC over MDC

By Our CorrespondentHARARE -
A total of eight senior journalists have been suspended at the Zimbabwe
Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) amid accusations they are sympathetic to the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

Topping the long list of
the journalists suspended Tuesday night at Pockets Hills, headquarters of
the government-owned and Zimbabwe's only public broadcaster are Robson
Mhandu, the general manager, Television Services, Patrice Makova (news
editor Television Services) and Steven Ndoma (deputy
editor-in-chief).

Their
suspension follows that of former chief executive Henry Muradzikwa who was
fired last month for allegedly failing to ensure a victory for President
Robert Mugabe who was trounced by MDC leader Morgan
Tsvangirai.

Tapfumaneyi is particularly accused of deleting a tape, which
had recordings of speeches made by Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Union leaders
Wellington Chibhebhe and Lovemore Matombo.

"The state wanted to use
the tape to aid in the prosecution of Chibhebhe and Matombo but it turned
out the tapes had been deleted," said a ZBC insider.

Chibhebhe and
Matombo were arrested after the Workers Day celebrations on May 1 at
Dzivarasekwa Stadium. They were charged with inciting workers to revolt
against President Robert Mugabe's government.

The suspended ZBC workers
are barred from setting foot at Pockets Hills and other premises of Zimbabwe
Broadcasting Holdings, among other conditions.

Since stepping into the
shoes of Muradzikwa, Muchechetere has dramatically changed news content and
programming, filling an estimated 99 percent of the news slots with Zanu-PF
propaganda in the run-up to the June 27 presidential
run-off.

Muchechetere was not available to comment.

But the
Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ), president Matthew Takaona and the Media
Institute of Southern African (MISA) Zimbabwe Chapter national director
Takura Zhangazha, confirmed some of the suspended employees had been in
touch with their respective organisations over their plight.

"ZUJ
condemns the suspension of the journalists from ZBC by the new management,"
said Takaona in a statement to the media. "The suspension constitutes the
most deplorable form of unfair labour practice as it is irrational, unlawful
and personal," said Takaona, noting that this was happening hard on the
heels of the dismissal of Muradzikwa.

Zhangazha said: "It seems there are
deliberate attempts to undermine the ability of professional journalists at
ZBC to discharge their duties. Those not supporting the ruling party are
surely going to be hounded out of the ZBC."

Now
is the time to prosecute our tormentors

THE time to prosecute those responsible for the murder and
torture of innocents in Zimbabwe is now.

The first and most important
duty of government is to protect its citizens. If a government uses the
enormous power at its disposal to murder, torture and rape defenceless
citizens, burn their homes and unleash all manner of brutality, it must be
held to account. Perpetrators must be hauled before the courts of law -
including the International Criminal Court - to face charges of crimes
against humanity. Talk of blanket immunity to facilitate self - serving
compromises is totally unacceptable. It must not be entertained.

The
Zanu-PF government demonstrated as soon as it got into power that it would
use unrestrained violence whenever it faced a real or imagined threat from
political opponents. During the reign of Ian Smith's white minority
government people in rural areas were subjected to unspeakable atrocities in
a vain attempt to thwart the advance of liberation forces. A blanket
immunity law ensured that no one was arrested and prosecuted for heinous
crimes.

When Robert Mugabe took over in 1980 he did not break with
the past. The Gukurahundi massacres in Matebeleland and parts of the
Midlands in the 1980s were his response to what he alleged was an attempt by
ZAPU to topple his government. Those who murdered, raped and pillaged were
rewarded with promotions especially in the military ranks.

Faced with
an electoral threat from the MDC in 2000 Mugabe's response was predictably
brutal. Cynically using the land issue as cover, MDC activists were
systematically murdered. Thousands of farm workers perceived to be the
bedrock of MDC support in rural areas were driven off farms and condemned to
destitution.

Following the 2005 parliamentary elections when
desperate attempts by Zanu-PF to win the urban vote had failed, Operation
Murambatsvina was unleashed to break large concentrations of perceived MDC
supporters. Peoples' homes, businesses and livelihoods were wantonly
destroyed. Today death squads are roaming rural areas in an orgy of murder,
rape and torture. Grassroots organizers of the MDC - the arms and legs of
the party - are being assassinated.

Families are being driven from
their burnt homes. Young Zimbabweans recruited into the militia have become
callous killing machines given money and logistical support by the army and
other state institutions, such as the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. In this
madness not even infants and the elderly are spared. Again not a single
person has been arrested and prosecuted. How can they, when the whole thing
is state-sponsored? The murderers, rapists and torturers enjoy blanket
immunity. It is this culture of impunity that must be
broken.

Post-colonial Zimbabwe was built on a lie - a false premise. Its
new rulers claimed sole proprietorship of the liberation struggle. Without
Zanu-PF there would have been no liberation from colonial bondage.
Therefore, the party had the right not only to rule in perpetuity but to do
as it pleased with the people and resources of the country. Its right or
mandate to rule emanated from the barrel of the gun.

According to
this logic Zanu-PF had the right to murder its opponents and do what it
pleased to protect what it won on the battlefield. When Grace Mugabe
recently said Morgan Tsvangirai would not see inside State House, even if he
won the forthcoming presidential poll she was only voicing the thinking of
her husband and the securocrats who underpin his rule.

What is
disappointing is the failure over the years of intellectuals - historians
and political scientists in particular- to challenge Zanu-PF claim to be the
sole liberators of Zimbabwe. It is patently absurd for a political party
formed in 1963 to claim sole ownership of a liberation struggle that began
the moment white settlers planted the Union Jack on Zimbabwean soil in 1890.
It was a long struggle by successive generations of nationalists and freedom
fighters against an enemy with superior weaponry and a then dominant
ideology of white supremacy.

The most difficult part of any liberation
struggle and the longest is to raise the consciousness and self- confidence
of the oppressed to confront their oppressors. It is to raise the demands of
the oppressed from seeking equality to demands for self rule. It was only
when this was achieved that ZANU and ZAPU in the 1960s and 70s were able to
recruit young men and women to join the armed struggle. Furthermore, the
armed struggle only succeeded because of the support peasants gave to the
liberation forces.

These are the very peasants who today bear the brunt
of the cruelty of the Zanu-PF regime because they dare look for an
alternative political home.

There are those who argue at this critical
juncture that since Smith was pardoned the same should apply to Mugabe. They
forget that Mugabe was supposed to be champion of the liberation of his
people. Did he liberate them from the violence, oppression and brutality of
the Smith regime? Should he not be chief custodian of the freedoms he claims
he won for his people? Should people be so beholden to their so-called
liberator to the extent of accepting murder, torture, rape and
displacement?

There is an understandable tendency for people to
concentrate on the urgent need for economic reconstruction in a post-Mugabe
era. The economy lays the golden egg and people are materially suffering
badly to the point of emigration to foreign and hostile lands. It is however
folly to believe that economic recovery and reconstruction can be achieved
without addressing the issue of the rotten body politic in
Zimbabwe.

The belief that Mugabe's government is not answerable to the
people of Zimbabwe is the reason why things went so terribly wrong. It is
the reason why even today with all crumbling around him Mugabe still places
his personal interests above those of the nation. Any decent society must be
underpinned by values the core of which is respect for the dignity and
sanctity of human life. Such a society recognizes that certain principles
and values should be beyond sacrifice. It acknowledges that not all should
be sacrificed at the altar of political expediency and survival.

A
good starting point for a post Zanu-PF government is to hold to account
those responsible for atrocities. There is much talk of national healing and
unity. This is not possible if those responsible for crimes against humanity
are not brought to book. The rights of ordinary powerless people cannot be
disregarded by compromises between political elites solely concerned with
either the acquisition or retention of power.

There are core values
that cannot be negotiated away by politicians pursuing narrow
interests.

If it is in the interest of Zimbabwe to have a government of
national unity after the June 27 presidential poll it should exclude those
elements in Zanu-PF responsible for crimes against the people of Zimbabwe.
Zimbabweans deserve a human rights based political dispensation. Any attempt
to construct such a dispensation with criminal elements of the Mugabe regime
will fail.

A message must be sent that the days of impunity are over.
Those who have murdered, raped, tortured, looted and burnt homes must be
prosecuted. They should face the full consequences of the law.

Only
then can Zimbabwe heal, unite and create foundations for a free and decent
society.

(Tendai Dumbutshena, who is currently based in Johannesburg, was
Editor of the now defunct The Zimbabwe Times in Harare at the time of
Independence in 1980.)

SA migrant refugees given two-month deadline

Migrants who fled the deadly xenophobic attacks in South Africa
last month will return to their communities or be repatriated within two
months, a government official said today.

An estimated 30 000
Zimbabweans, Mozambicans and other African migrants have been living in
refugee camps and shelters since mobs went on the rampage, killing at least
62 people in impoverished shantytowns around Johannesburg and other
cities.

Facing criticism from relief agencies and the United Nations over
poor conditions in the shelters, President Thabo Mbeki's government has
started relocating the refugees to tented camps in Gauteng province and
elsewhere around the country.

Gauteng encompasses Johannesburg, which
was the flashpoint for more than two weeks of murder, rape and
looting.

No tents by end of July"By end of July we shouldn't have
tents in Gauteng," Dorothy Mahlangu, a minister in the Gauteng government,
said during a briefing in Cape Town by members of a task force investigating
the xenophobic outbreak.

Mahlangu said those who did not want to be
reintegrated into the community would be sent home to their respective
countries and that the government was working with its African neighbours on
arrangements to smooth repatriation.

Zimbabwe is arranging for about 2
500 of its citizens to be repatriated, its state media said on
Wednesday.

About 50 000 migrants have left South Africa, with the bulk
crossing into neighbouring Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Some refused to go back
to their communities in South Africa out of fear, they told officials, that
the armed mobs would return.

Safety and Security Minister Charles
Nqakula said there had been no fresh attacks since shortly after soldiers
were sent into the townships, though he added that Mbeki might extend the
army's deployment when it expires this weekend.

Nqakula added that 1
436 people had been charged with murder, arson, assault and other crimes in
connection with the violence, the worst to occur in South Africa since the
end of apartheid in 1994. - Reuters